Apologies Left Unsaid
by Great Northern
Summary: After a fight, Neal's tracker is found three miles out of range. Nobody has seen him for a week and Peter is searching frantically for his missing partner. Peter finds Neal in the lest likely place of all, and there are plenty surprises to be found.
1. Prologue: Troublesome Stain

"_He who angers you, conquers you." -Elizabeth Kenny_

Prologue: One Troublesome Stain

Neal was always on time, that was one thing Peter had to hand to the man. Peter would tell him a tell and the next morning, the conman would show up at Peter's door bright and early, always wearing his stupid hat.

So there Neal was, right on time; eight o' clock on the dot. Peter sighed as he saw the hat.

"If you're going to wear that hat everyday, you should at least get a different color. Gray gets old after a while," Peter said as the conman took his usual seat.

"Hey, I happen to like this color. Its boring like all you folks."

"I resent that. I actually have a very exciting life sometimes."

Neal rolled his eyes. "Yeah, filing papers and going through records...so much fun."

"It's been a slow week, but once we get a case, you've seen how fun it can get."

"All right, you guys aren't that boring. Only occasionally, like right now."

"This isn't boring," Peter said.

Neal rolled his eyes once again, "Dude, we are having a conversation about hat colors...yeah, it's boring."

"You know what Neal, nobody asked you," Peter said, feeling his patience being tested. He had not had a very good morning so far and the conman was not making it any better.

"Sorry Peter," Neal said and went silent for once. Peter silently thank God that Neal was giving him some peace and quiet. Peter had come home late once again last night and Elizabeth had been mad. It was even worse this time because they had company over and it made Elizabeth look bad that her husband was late. He had only been forty-five minutes late, but to Elizabeth it could have been a decade.

"What's the game plan for today?" Neal asked, breaking the peaceful silence.

Peter mentally flinched as his partner started to talk. Once he started, he couldn't stop. "Just organizing some things."

"Oh cool." After a few minutes of Peter typing away, Neal began to whistle. It was quiet, but then got louder...and louder...and louder.

Peter slammed his hands on his keyboard. "Would it kill you to be silent for just a few minutes? Seriously Neal!"

Neal sank into his chair as Peter raised his voice. "I take it you aren't in the best mood this morning?"

"Oh well ding-ding, you got that right. Now just sit there and be quiet so I can get some work done!" Peter had finally found his breaking point and it took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He was usually a level headed guy, but sometimes, working with a bunch of idiots dressed as cartoons got to you.

"So I'm just going to sit here all day? You know, I could be doing better things with my time. I could be out shopping for a new hat. Now that you mentioned it, I do need a few new hats with different colors. Do you think orange would be a good color?" Neal said, smirking as Peter tensed.

"No? Yeah, me too. Too bright, it would stand out in a crowd. I think just another gray hate like this one would be good. I'm into those dull colors, y'know?" Neal continued on talking, having a very good time in having a one-sided conversation with himself.

"Peter are you listening to me? I feel kinda weird talking to myself. I really need your help on this. Choosing hat colors is a very big decision and picking the wrong one would mean bad consequences for the rest of my life maybe! I might even need therapy and you know how expensive that is. Well, only if you go to the good ones." Neal knew it was cruel to mess with his partner when he was obviously having a bad day, but he couldn't help it. Messing with Peter was just so much fun sometimes.

"You know what I think Neal?" Neal nodded, smiling like an idiot. "I think you need to shut up! All I ask for is some peace and quiet while I try to get my work done, but you can't even do that one simple task! I've done a lot for you, but when I ask for something from you, you can't do it. I should put you back in jail!" Neal's smile fell at this statement. Peter had made that threat plenty of times before, but never when he was this angry. He was worried the FBI agent might actually do that.

"But I won't." Peter was standing now and was starting to pace and wring his hands together. "I want you to work with Jones for the day. Help him out and just follow what he says. I want a good report back from Jones and if not, well, those two miles on your tracker can be easily changed."

"Peter-" Neal started, standing up.

Peter cut him off. "I don't want to hear it Caffery." Neal took a step back when Peter used his last name. This morning had quickly gone from all right to down right terrible. "Just go to Jones' office and follow his orders. I don't want to see you for the rest of the day. Go."

Neal nodded and avoided eye contact as he made his way to Jones' office. He knocked twice on the door and was still staring at the floor when Jones looked up. There was a stain on the ground that they should really clean up, he thought.

"What do you need?" Jones asked and Neal could hear the surprise in his voice.

"Peter sent me to work for you for the day. Just to help out and stuff." That stain seemed to be taunting Neal as he stared at it and he just really wished that someone would get some Oxiclean or something and clean it up.

"What did you do know?"

"Apparently I was too annoying..." Neal trailed off. He was now starting to wonder what the stain once was and how did it get there? It was probably sauce from one of Jones' sandwiches, Neal thought.

"All right, I have some things that you can do for me," Jones said. "Come on in."

Neal walked in, leaving the stain behind, but he still thought about it. He would ask someone to clean it up soon.

**Author's Note: God bless anyone who made it through all that. I swear, it gets better...hopefully. Feedback is good. **

**Kai**


	2. Chapter 1: If Only

"_If only. Those must be the two most saddest words in the world." -Mercedes Lackey_

Chapter 1: If Only

Peter walked into his office the next morning and the guilt was coming in waves.

_Why did I say that? He was just being Neal, even though that can get pretty annoying sometimes. Just because I was angry doesn't give me any excuse for getting all pissed off at Neal...okay, maybe a little sympathy points, but not that much. _

"I'm such a stupid idiot," Peter grumbled to himself as he took a seat in his normal chair. He checked the clock and saw that he still had about ten minutes before Neal came in. The man was always punctual.

Peter was worried Neal would hold a grudge, or have a face off with him. Peter didn't do good with fights in the office. Sure, out on the field facing off with the bad guy just as he was about to kill the hostage, that was fine. But fights in the office, among your colleagues. Peter didn't do that. Whenever someone got into a fight either about sleeping with the same girl, or not returning each phone calls, or not getting their paperwork in on time...Peter stepped away from that. He was a married, FBI agent, not some hormonal teenager in high school that just got a date.

But Peter wasn't that worried about a fight. He was more worried about Neal holding a grudge against him. The man was a conman...or an ex conman to be exact and Peter was pretty sure that Neal had some good contacts who could do some bad things to a FBI like himself. Though, Peter was pretty sure that Neal wasn't like that...or so he hoped.

"He's not like that..." Peter whispered to himself.

"Whose not like what?" Jones asked, walking into his office, holding a file.

"What..oh, no one. You need something Jones?" Peter asked, eying the folder in Jones' hand.

Jones saw what Peter was looking at and shook his head. "This is for someone else. I'm here to talk to you about Caffery."

"You know, I think that person will want that file really quick," Peter answered quickly, not wanting to head into dangerous waters.

"No, I need to talk to you about what happened yesterday. Neal said that you told him he was being...annoying."

"I was in a bad mood and he was being well...you know, Neal. I just wanted some peace, but he didn't give me any, so I just simply sent him to you for the day. No big deal."

"I think it was a big deal for Neal. He barely talked the whole day except to mention to me that someone should clean up a stain. He wasn't himself. I think your words hurt him, and I know that you're not good with feelings, but you should talk to him."

Peter opened his mouth to protest, but Jones beat him to it. "Talk to him Peter, the second he gets in."

"He might be late."

"He's never late and you know that."

"I can't promise that. He might not want to talk to me."

"Peter."

"Jones."

Jones frowned. "Agent Burke, I order that you talk to Neal and make up with him."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Fine."

Jones smirked and walked out, "You'll thank me eventually."

"Yeah, don't count on that."

Peter sighed and massaged his temples to stop the headache that was forming. It was only Thursday, but already Peter could tell that he was going to get no rest this weekend...or maybe even the next week.

His headache was slowly going away and Peter was expecting Neal to show up any second. He checked the clock.

**8:23 A.M.**

"No...that's not right. Neal is always on time." He checked again.

**8:23 A.M.**

"Dammit Neal," Peter said and got up to go ask if anyone had seen Neal.

"Have you seen Neal?" Peter asked, sticking his head in Jones' office. There was another man in there, but Peter bid him no attention. "He's twenty-three minutes late."

"No haven't seen him."

"Did you tell him to come in at eight o' clock?"

"Of course, I'm not stupid. He's probably just avoiding you Peter. Search around, he'll come out hopefully."

"Yeah, I hope so," Peter said and went to go scavenge the other offices.

"Have you seen Neal?"

"No."

"Have you seen Neal?"

"Nope."

"Have you seen Neal?"

"Sorry Burke, can't help you there."

Peter was pretty sure he asked everyone in the White Collar unit...most people twice or even three times. He was sure people were beginning to think that he was insane for obsessing over a conman who had been late thirty minutes or so. Some people could be late over three hours and not answering their cellphones at all and nobody would care. But those people weren't Neal Caffery.

He got out his phone and called June's house. When Neal had first moved in, he was required to give June's home number along with her cell number (which June's granddaughter had insisted that she buy to get into the new world.)

They picked up on the fourth ring. "Hello?"

Peter put on his agent voice. "Hi, is Neal Caffery home? This is Agent Burke."

"Why no, he isn't. Actually, I haven't seen him since yesterday morning. I just assumed he was working late at the office or found a nice lady friend to hang with." The old women laughed and Peter managed to crack a small smile. "Is he in trouble?"

"No, he's just a little bit late, but nothing too big."

"Oh, all right. Well if he drops by I'll be sure to give you a call, Agent Burke."

"Thank you ma'am."

"My pleasure."

The call ended and Peter was left with no leads...again.

People just don't disappear off the face of the Earth. They always leave some sort of trace..some sort of clue. They always did because people always wanted to be found. Even criminals who were on the run left some sort of clue or sign. It was the authorities job to find those clues and crack their code to catch them.

"Jones, he's still not in," Peter said, going to his friend's office once again. He felt like a child running to a teacher to complain about a bully on the monkey bars, but Peter had no choice.

"Okay, check the bathrooms and call his cell. Then you can come and whine to me...again," Jones said with his ever so calm voice.

"Cellphone and bathroom, all right." Dammit...cellphone. Why didn't Peter think of that? Oh right, because he was an idiot right now. He had yelled at his partner and now he was missing. These things only happened to idiots like himself who don't think.

The bathrooms were clear except for one man who was a little shocked to see Peter running in, searching frantically for something and panting.

Peter whipped out his cellphone once again and dialed Neal's number. It went straight to voice mail. He tried again, hoping for a different result.

Voice mail.

Voice mail the fourth time.

Voice mail the sixth time.

Peter had to face it, Neal's cellphone was off...he was late...and no one had seen him for the past day or so. He was gone.

Now was a good time to start thinking.

**Author's Note: 22 story alerts in one chapter? I feel pretty good about myself. Jk. Thanks everyone and sorry to my anymonous reviewers who I can't respond to. I love yall :). This chapter was meant to show desperation sorta. I hoped I did that. :D. Also, I heard this quote this morning that made me think of Neal: "If you don't like the law...break it." :D.**

**Feedback is good.**

**Kai**


	3. Chapter 2: Left to Wonder

"_Sometimes, when one person is missing, the whole world seems depopulated." -Lamartine_

Chapter 2: Left to Wonder

One week.

One week it had been since Peter had last seen Neal Caffery.

One week since _anyone_ has seen Neal Caffery.

They had done everything. Called every single person on Neal's phone contact list (which hadn't been that long), interviewed June and Mozzie on Neal's whereabouts, went through all of Neal's past partners slash enemies, checked to make sure that all the felons that Neal and Peter had arrested were still in and checked his tracker. The tracker had been the most interesting in Peter's perspective.

The tracker had been found three miles out of range. It was the first day that Neal had been missing when the alarm had gone off. Peter was the first at the scene, breaking almost every single speed limit on his way there. The tracker was found in an old box with the red light on, signaling that it was out of its two mile range.

"It didn't signal us when it had been cut," Jones had said as he and the rest of the FBI team showed up.

"Maybe its dead," Lauren suggested.

"No, it can't be. It's not a toy car on batteries, its a very high classified tracking device. They don't just die or run out of batteries," Peter said, "Someone knew how to remove it."

"Caffery?" Jones suggested.

"No, if he knew how to remove it, he would have taken it off long ago," Lauren said.

"Someone else? A kidnapper or an old accomplice?"

Peter tuned out Jones and Lauren as they discussed who might have been able to remove the tracker without activating it. He was investigating a small red stain on the side of the tracker. It resembled something, but Peter didn't want to accept it. Accepting it meant that something bad had happened.

"Does this look like blood to anyone?" Peter asked, hoping someone would tell him no and that it was just Gatorade or apple juice.

"Um yeah, why?" Jones said.

"You don't think it's Caffery's...do you?" Lauren asked.

"Yes, that's exactly what I think," Peter said and they all went silent.

"Of course we won't know for certain until they test it at the labs, right? It could be anyone's," Lauren said.

"Yeah," Jones and Peter said, though no one believed it. Not even as the tracker was removed from Peter's hands and the three were shooed away from the crime scene so that they could scan the area.

The blood turned out to be Neal's and this made Peter's blood run cold. Now, Neal was missing and he was injured. He didn't know how bad Neal was injured or where, just that it was bad enough to make him bleed. This was turning more and more into something bigger then Peter was ready for.

Neal came out of prison to work for the FBI...not to get captured and injured. He was supposed to be Peter's responsibility and Peter had let him down. Peter was supposed to protect Neal from these sort of things, but he failed at that. He failed at being Neal's partner, friend and protector.

Elizabeth tried to understand. Every night when he came home, she offered constant comforting words and support. She even tried to help him evaluate the case, but came up with a scenario so unreasonable that Peter just had to laugh even in his solemn state.

Elizabeth had reacted a little bit more strongly then Peter had expected when he told her about the situation at hand.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked when Peter came home the first day that Neal had gone missing. She noticed that her husband was acting more gloomy then normal that particular day and she always hated it when Peter was sad. It ruined her whole night sometimes.

"Noting."

"Is it Neal again? I know he's being a little bit annoying and out of term, but you got to remember. He's used to being carefree and doing whatever he wants to without giving a care in the world about the law or something. He'll eventually get used to being with the FBI, you just gotta give it time."

"El, it's not that."

"Oh, then what is it? Is Hughes being a grumpy old grouch again?"

Peter sighed. "It's Neal, but he's not being annoying again. He's...well, he's."

"What? C'mon Peter, what is it?"

"He's missing."

Elizabeth gasped. "Oh no."

Peter nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I'm afraid so. He's been gone for about a day and his tracker was found abandoned about three miles out of range. There was blood on the tracker."

"Is it Neal's?" Elizabeth asked, dreading the answer. This was something out of a horror movie for her.

"We don't know yet. The lab results should be done tomorrow morning. If it is then Hughes will look more into this situation, but for right now, we just assume that he ran off with some old partner of his."

"Oh my..." Elizabeth said and bursted into tears. At the sight of tears, Peter mentally groaned. He didn't know how to react. His wife had cried before, but this was during chick flicks or something else. Never like this.

He gave her a slightly awkward hug and she sobbed into Peter's chest. Peter tried to be comforting, but Elizabeth was too sad to even notice anything.

Elizabeth had locked herself in their room for the next hour or so and when she came out, her eyes were red and cheers were marked with tear streaks. She sat down with Peter on the couch and he tried to be the comforting husband that every other wife had.

They never spoke of that, but Elizabeth wasn't her normal self for the next two days or so. She eventually got back to her normal self and Peter was glad that he married someone who could bounce back from emotional tragedies so easily. She claimed that she trusted Peter's skills that he would find Neal and soon.

It was now a week and anyone working in the FBI knew that the chances of a surviving kidnap victim after a week were very slim. Then again, not every kidnap victim was Neal Caffery and Neal Caffery always could survive and do things the different way.

Hughes had called Peter to his office and Peter tried not to be mad that his boss was taking away from Peter's time that he could spend looking for Neal.

"Agent Burke," Hughes said.

"Yeah," Peter answered.

"I think that we need to put someone else on the case."

"What! No! You can't! I need to find Neal myself. I don't know what I would do other then that!" Peter shouted, horrified that someone would even suggest that he stop looking for his partner.

"Agent Burke, calm down."

"Sorry sir."

"I know that Caffery was your partner and friend, but you have too many personnel ties with this case. It's like how a doctor can't operate on his own family or friends, you can't look for your partner without getting too caught up with your own personnel relationship."

"But I was the only one who even found Neal. How do you know that anyone else can find him besides me? You don't! I can find Neal, my personnel ties won't get in the way."

"I know that you found Caffery before, but this time is different. He's not the one hiding, someone else is hiding him. I think someone else with a little bit more experience with kidnap cases will be able to find your partner quicker. You're not specialized in this field."

"Just give me a little more time."

"I don't know Agent Burke-" Hughes was cut off by a knock at the door. "Yes?"

"There's someone on the line here. They're asking for you and Agent Burke."

"Tell them that we're in a meeting," Hughes grumbled.

"But they say that they found Neal Caffery sir."

"Give me the phone!" Peter yelled and ran over to the man.

**Author's Note: Don't kill me. I'm sorry that the wait was longer then the last update. A person who was on my cross country team committed suicide so I was going through a rough time last week. He was a great guy and I will miss him dearly. Also, thanks you guys SO much. 39 story alerts in two chapters. You guys rock so much :). Next update will be after Thanksgiving I think.**

**Love, Kai**


	4. Chapter 3: The Savior

"_Just think how happy you would be if you lost everything you have right now, and then got it back again." -Frances Rodman_

Chapter 3: The Savior

Peter was happy as ever to finally see Neal again. It had been a week. A whole week without any form of contact and worrying, but Peter could put that all behind him now. According to the man on the phone, Neal was with him and that they should hurry.

Peter ignored the part about hurrying. He just wanted to have this reunion go as smoothly as possible and by tomorrow or the next day, they would be laughing together and bickering over Neal's silly cartoon hat.

He pulled his car up to the prison where the man on the phone had said where Neal was. Peter tried not to scream like a teenage girl seeing New Moon as he got out of the car and walked up to the prison's entrance. To anyone else, it was just a simple rescue of a consult, but to him, it was a chance to get back his friend and repair any cracks that their argument may have made.

Jones and him walked up to the receptionist and pulled out their badges in an automatic motion. "We're here to see Henderson," Jones said in the voice that all FBI agents seemed to use when speaking to non-FBI agents.

"He was expecting you folk. Wait here, I'll go get him," she said with a southern accent and left down one of the many hallways.

"What do you think Caffery is doing in a prison?" Jones asked, glancing around.

"I don't know, but I think that Henderson took him here himself."

The two agents stood together in silence while they waited for the old woman and Henderson to return. Hughes and other agents were waiting just a phone call away if anything went bad. Which, in most cases for them, always did.

Henderson eventually came back with the old lady after a few minutes. The woman went back to her receptionist duties while Henderson beckoned for the two FBI agents to follow him.

"I apologize for all this trouble. Criminals do get to be a handful sometimes, especially when they run," Henderson said.

"Caffery is actually a consultant," Jones said and he exchanged a glance with Peter.

"Oh. Well, I didn't catch your names. I'm Joe Henderson."

"Agent Peter Burke."

"Agent Jones."

"Nice to meet you fine gentlemen," Henderson said and shook both their hands which was awkward while walking in a small prison hallway.

"Yes. Now, about Neal," Peter started, but was cut off by Henderson.

"There's something that you need to know about him first."

"What?" That nervous feeling was back in Peter's stomach.

"Well, when I found him, he was pretty beaten up. I took him home because my wife is a nurse and we fixed him up pretty good if I say so myself. I recognized him as Caffery and took him down to here, locked him up, and called the White Collar unit...or you guys. He was looking fine when I brought him in, but now...well, I think he needs a real hospital."

"We will take him there as soon as possible," Jones answered, seeing the angry look in Peter's eyes.

_ What a bunch of idiots! You always bring an injured man to the hospital, not to a jail!_

"Here's his cell," Henderson said after a few minutes of walking. It was completely dark inside so Peter couldn't see if Neal was all right or not. He just saw an outline of what he assumed was Neal's body. He fumbled with his keys for a second and then found the right one and opened the door.

Peter tried to ignore the blood stains as he walked to his partner. He bent down to shake Neal's shoulder, but gasped as his hand came back sticky with blood.

"He's bleeding!" Peter gasped.

"Paper cut?" Henderson innocently suggested.

Peter turned Neal over and checked for a pulse, but nearly screamed when there was no. "He's dead..."

"Exactly."

Peter jolted awake, sweat rolling down his face. He ran his hand through his hair and was disappointed to see that his hairline was receding. "You're going to be bald soon...oh Neal, would get a kick out of that."

The FBI agent stretched, his back hurting from spending all night and day in a shitty hospital chair with no support at all. He turned his eyes to the man in the bed who was the reason that Peter had been spending all his time in a hospital chair.

Neal was pale all over from blood loss. He had wires running all over his body and their purpose was unknown to Peter. An oxygen mask was over Neal's face to help him breathe better. Peter had been glad that they hadn't had to intubate his partner. He didn't think he could stand seeing his friend having to have some sort of machine do his breathing for him.

Neal's injuries were severe according to the doctor's. He had broken his left wrist, right leg in three different places, cracked his pelvis, dislocated his left shoulder, cracked two ribs, broken four fingers on his left hand. That was only the bone part of his injuries. There was bruises everywhere along with third degree burns all along his feet, small cuts everywhere, and dehydration and starvation. Peter didn't even know how to pronounce half the stuff that the doctors had told him about his friend's condition. What he did remember was:

"He should make a full recovery."

Sure, there was going to be lots of physical therapy, hard weeks, among other things. But in a few months, they could all put it behind them and go back to their old lives.

One week.

One week Neal had been gone, and all this had happened. All this...shit had happened! Peter didn't know how, but for some reason Neal just had a knack for attracting bad things.

The dream Peter had reflected how things could have easily gone. Neal could easily have been found by some prick who thought he could handle things and just put Neal in prison...where he died. Though, luckily it didn't happen that way.

Luck had been on their side that day...but Peter didn't count that it would ever happen again. You only get one stroke of luck like that once in a lifetime.

_The phone call had been from a man named Joe Henderson. He worked for the local police force a few towns over and was doing his daily patrol. He had spotted a figure laying on the side of the road and got out to help the man. _

_ Henderson saw that the man was seriously injured so he called some favors and went to the local E.R. _

_ A doctor at the E.R recognized Neal and told Henderson who then proceeded to call the FBI and inform them that he had Neal Caffery._

_ The drive over to the town should have taken an hour and a half, but with Peter driving, it took maybe forty-five minutes. From what Henderson had said over the phone, Neal was seriously injured and he needed them there soon._

_ Peter ran into the emergency room with Jones and Lauren hot on his heels. "Where's Joe Henderson?" He demanded of a secretary._

_ "Take a seat."_

_ "No! I need to see him. He and my friend are here and my friend has been missing for a long time. Look, can I just see him?"_

_ "What a touching story. How about you share it with the other people waiting," she said and __pointed to a chair._

_ "But we're FBI," Jones said, pulling out his badge._

_ "I don't care if you're Obama, you wait with everyone else."_

_ Peter was about to say something when Henderson came out of the doors leading to the E.R. "Agent Burke!" _

_ "Henderson! Is Neal all right."_

_ "He's not here..." Henderson said, looking down at his shoe._

_ "What! Where is he!"_

_ "At the hospital down the road. Dr. Schuzle said that Neal would receive better treatment there then here. Plus...he sorta flat lined," Henderson muttered, feeling very afraid of the FBI agent._

_ Lauren gasped and Jones sighed. "Is he still alive?" Peter asked, trying to keep his cool._

_ "Yes. They were able to revive him and then Dr. Schulze transferred him over to the hospital. I was just getting ready to call you and tell you, but I guess you beat me to it."_

_ "C'mon, let's go," Lauren said and tugged along Peter and Jones._

_ "He was only gone one week..." Peter mumbled._

_ "Yeah, well that might as well be a year if you're a hostage," Jones said._

Peter wasn't exactly sure what happened between then and now, but all he knew was that Neal would be okay and that he could finally just relax.

"Don't go missing again," Peter said to Neal. "I need a break."

**Author's Note: Confused. Me too. Hope yall had a happy Thanksgiving! Be thankful for this update! :). Now it's time to set up the Christmas tree! **

**Love, Kai**


	5. Chapter 4: Where Has All the Good Gone?

"_Do you believe you're missing out? _

_When everything good is happening somewhere else. _

_But with nobody in your bed, _

_the night's hard to get through." -Jesus Christ by Brand New_

Chapter 4: Where Has All the Good Gone?

Peter was glad not to be alone by Neal's bedside anymore. He had spent the first two hours alone, sitting by his injured partner's bedside and that was quite an experience for Peter. He had grown up filled with noise and worked with noise. Peter had grown used to the noise. This? This however was the complete opposite of his normal noisy lifestyle.

This was complete and utter silence. Something Peter did not like...at all.

Neal was out cold, the only sounds disrupting the silence were the footsteps outside the hall and the sounds of the two breathing. The nurses had told Peter to talk to Neal and it would help him wake up faster. But Peter never did that. He didn't believe in talking to someone who wouldn't answer back.

Jones and Lauren went back to Hughes to report all what had happened. They also had some paperwork to do and promised to try to get back by the nightfall or the next morning. Elizabeth was in the middle of a meeting with an important client so she wouldn't pick up her cellphone for the next hour at least.

Mozzie wasn't answering his phone either_. Probably out searching for Neal, being the dedicated friend he is, _Peter thought to himself. He thought Neal was lucky to have a friend to back him up through all of this. June was out of town. She had left after the FBI had interviewed her shortly after Neal disappeared. Said she needed to get out of the house for a bit.

The agent thought it was sorta sad that the list of people who actually cared about Neal was so very short. If it were himself laying in the bed, he was sure that there would be a lot more people to call. Relatives...old friend...colleagues...Elizabeth's friends...etc. Neal had him, Elizabeth, Lauren, Jones, Mozzie, and June. Not a very long list for someone his age. But then again, Peter guessed that being a criminal didn't get you very high on the social ranking.

He supposed that Kate should be informed too, but then again, how would he tell her? Nobody knew where she was...well, if Neal was telling him the whole truth which Peter highly doubted. Neal never told the whole truth. He was an ex-conman for Pete's sack, not a saint!

The FBI agent looked at Neal and sighed. It wasn't fair. Neal had been trying to turn his life around. He got out of jail, worked for the FBI now and helped catch people that he would have once worked with to commit devious crimes. Now, well, he was lying in a hospital bed with too many injuries for Peter to even say. But then again, someone did this to him.

Thinking of someone who would do this to a person like Neal made Peter's blood boil. Sure, he was a pain in the ass most of the time, but he was a good kid. He didn't deserve to be treaten like this and Peter swore to himself and anyone who gave a damn that he would find whoever did this to Neal and make his life a hell.

Peter sat in that uncomfortable chair for who knows how long before the beeping of his cellphone jolted him out of the slumber that he was about to fall into.

"Agent Burke," he answered, trying to keep the yawn that was creeping up at bay. Sitting at an injured friend's bedside was tiring.

"Hello honey. Long day at work?" Elizabeth said.

"Elizabeth, I have big news for you." Peter was excited to tell her that they had found her favorite felon finally.

"You found Neal?"

"Who ruined the surprise?"

Elizabeth laughed warm heartedly. "The Bureau called about five minutes ago and informed me about all that went on. I'm walking down to my car right now."

"That's great honey."

Elizabeth went somber. "How badly hurt is he?"

"What makes you think he's hurt?" Peter said, hoping to keep his wife from worrying too much. He didn't want to ruin her day by telling her that Neal was badly injured even though she would find out eventually when she arrived.

"They told me he was in the hospital. C'mon Peter, tell me, I can handle it."

"Well, he has a few broken bones, and his skin looks like it's been painted by a preschooler with black and blue." He heard his wife gasp on the other line. "But the doctors told me that Neal should make a full recovery with some psychical therapy and TLC."

"That's good news. Is he awake?"

"No. The hospital staff said that his body needs to recover for a bit before waking up. They said he was suffering from exhaustion, starvation, and dehydration when they brought him in. It might be another day before Neal wakes up, but he will wake up."

"All right. I'll be there in about an hour. Keep a seat warm for me."

"Okay, love you."

"Love you too Peter."

The call was disconnected...leaving Peter alone once again.

He exchanged a glance with his unconsciousness partner. "You know, I don't even think my wife would act that way if it was _me_ in the hospital." No response. "What are your secrets, I'm dying to know."

Neal laid there, still as ever. Peter laughed to himself. "Look at me, I'm talking to someone who probably never hear what I'm saying right now. I'm pathetic."

Peter sighed and put his head in his hands. "Please wake up. You're draining us all."

-

Elizabeth drove along the highway, trying as hard as she could to keep the tears away. The sky was turning dark, showing the early signs of a storm on its way. Small rain drops appeared on her windshield and Elizabeth felt glad for them. They shed the tears that she didn't want to.

The rain soon started into a downpour and Elizabeth had her windshield wipers going crazy to keep her vision of the road clear. She didn't think that her husband could stand to have two people he loved in the hospital.

It felt weird to say that Peter loved Neal. It wasn't like a gay love or anything like that, but more of a father and son love. Elizabeth saw the way Peter scolded Neal or when he helped Neal figure out some FBI junk. It showed the man that she fell in love with beneath all that FBI material. Of course, both men would deny it if anyone asked them about it, but Elizabeth knew the two were more like father and son then anything.

Elizabeth was like her husband in not liking the silence and soon the isolation of being in the car got to her. She reached for the radio and let the calming voices of a singer and a radio host soothe her as she drove to her own personnel hell.

_"I'd arrest you if I had the handcuffs_

_ I'd arrest you if I had the time_

_ I'd throw you down in the backseat _

_ As if you had committed a terrible crime._

_ I'd break in a town's worth of houses_

_ And rob whole families blind_

_ I'd do it to you like you do it to me_

_ If I knew you would get away fine._

_ I'd drown all these crying babies_

_ If I'd knew their mothers wouldn't cry_

_ I'd hold them down and squeeze real soft_

_ To let a piece of myself die._

_ It's hard to be the better man_

_ When you forgot you're trying_

_ It's hard to be the better man._

_ I'd arrest you if I had the handcuffs_

_ I'd arrest you if I had the time_

_ I'd wait for you outside the courtroom_

_ Taunting when all your appeals were declined_

_ I'd drive my car off of a bridge_

_ If I knew that you weren't inside_

_ With a pedal to the floor who could ask for more_

_ A fantastic way to kill some time_

_ And you could lay on your back and be beaten up_

_ You could put up your fists and fight_

_ You could try and be way up_

_ Way up, way up, way up_

_ Way up, way up, way up._

_ It's hard to be the better man_

_ When you forget you're trying_

_ It's hard to be the better man_

_ When you're still lying_

_ It's hard to be the better man_

_ When you forget you're trying_

_ It's hard to be the better man_

_ When you're still lying, you're still lying."_

Elizabeth found it funny how sometimes the radio could read your mind and play the song that met your mood or situation. Yes, it was hard to be the better man. But not only if you forgot you were trying or were still lying...but if the world didn't give you a chance.

Neal just got out of jail and he was trying to start over, but then again, how could he? He was already in the hospital with multiple injuries and got into fights with everyone. Even Peter sometimes! The ex-felon just needed a break was what Elizabeth thought.

She drove off along the highway, ready to face whatever laid at the end of this journey for all of them.

-

Andy walked down the hallway, clutching the file with white knuckles. He was trying not to show all of his fear. He was afraid of this man and of this hallway. In fact, he was afraid of this whole building, but with good intentions. This man caused more people to flinch in fear then Voldemort ever would in his fictional world of Harry Potter.

The door was large and made of oak. It had been recently polished too, giving off an eerie glow. It fit in with the scene completely. Andy raised a shaking hand and knocked two times, the knocks coming out irregular thanks to his nervous gitters.

"Come in," a loud voice boomer and Anderson flinched. He was young and had a wife, not a good time to die. He didn't even know why he agreed to this job, but he needed the money and this man apparently always delivered.

"Oh, it's you," the man behind the desk said. Andy didn't know his name, he was told that names didn't matter when he had asked the scary man his name. The only thing Andy did know was that he was powerful and liked to impress people. That was not a good combination.

"Hello there, sir."

"Come on in," Anderson nodded and took small steps towards the large desk that was also made out of oak. "I assume you got what I asked you for."

"Of course, sir."

"Hand it on up," the man ordered and Andy handed the file on over to the man. Andy gulped when he realized that the man's beefy hand was almost as big as his head.

The man flipped through the file, making small noises to himself as he read small pits of it. "Very good. You did well."

"Thank you sir."

"You sure it's FBI and not some knock-off? I don't like knock-offs, only the real thing."

Andy nodded. "Yes sir! I have an old friend who works in there and gave me the file straight from the FBI."

"I know that, now shut up!" Andy flinched and backed away. "But you did good. You deserve you payment."

"Thank you so much, sir. You have no idea what this means to my wife and I."

"I don't care. Now, Robert over there will give you your money," the man said and gestured to Robert who had just entered the room.

"Thank you sir!" Andy said and walked over to Robert, feeling very pleased with himself. He had gotten his small family enough money to last them all the way to April.

Robert smiled as Andy approached him. "Here's your money kid," he said and Andy barely had time to reply as a shot rang out and Andy fell to the floor.

Dead.

"Good job, he was a nuisance," the man said.

"Is the file antithetic?"

"Yes, it's very real all right."

"Will it help us? I mean, he already escaped."

"Oh yes it will," the man said and glanced at the file in his hands. "It will help us very much."

The man placed the file down with the name facing up.

**Neal Caffery.**

**Author's Note: I feel so very evil right now. Thank yall so much for the response that this story is getting! I mean, like 70 story alerts! Holy crap! I am blown away. Thank you guys so much. If y'all have any questions, put them in a review. The song in the middle was Handcuffs by Brand New. Look it up! :).**

**Love Kai**


	6. Chapter 5: A Little Worse for Wear

"_One's family is the most important thing in life. I look at it this way; One day I'll be over in a hospital somewhere with four walls around me. And the only people who'll be with me will be my family." -Robert C. Byrd_

Chapter 5: A Little Worse for Wear

Jones was out getting coffee for the third time. Peter knew that his colleague pretty much lived on the bitter drink, but three cups in four hours was a little over the top in his mind. Lauren had stopped by for a bit, then was called back to work. Jones would be sucked back into the office too, but for now, he could sit and worry along with Peter and his wife.

Neal had made no sign of movement. He was still as still and death looking as ever, but the doctors and nurses assured them all that he should be waking up soon. They said it should be within the next day or twelve hours.

That had been that morning. It was now almost noon.

"Maybe they made a mistake and he's going to be like this for a lot longer," Peter said as he paced impatiently.

"Relax. Neal will wake up on his own time," Elizabeth said calmly, but anyone could see the anxiety in her eyes. She was worried for her fallen friend and knew that none of them would be at peace until Neal opened his eyes and was driving them all to hell and back again.

Jones returned holding two cups of freshly brewed cups of crappy hospital coffee. At the office, Sharron always made the coffee and drinking anything besides that, even Starbucks, seemed like shit compared to Sharon's family recipe for coffee.

Jones handed Peter a cup, and he smiled politely even though he had no intentions of drinking it whatsoever. "Any change on him?" Jones asked, trying not to get his hopes up too high.

"Nope. Still, well you know, lying there," Peter said. Jones nodded and took his seat by Neal's bed. Peter stayed standing and looked out the hospital window. Rain was coming down hard now, giving the outside a bleak and gray look to it. Almost as if someone had painted a picture, but left out all the color and happiness. Just as this hospital room felt.

Colorless and unhappy.

Peter was about to turn away from the dreary scene, but he noticed something out of place. A man was standing in the middle of the parking lot wearing a yellow raincoat. But that wasn't what bother Peter. What bothered him was that the man was staring up. Straight Peter and Neal's hospital room.

"Hey, come here," Peter said and both his wife and friend were by his side. "Look at the guy down there. Don't you think it's a little weird that he would just stand in the rain and stare up at this room?"

"Seems odd. Want me to go check it out?" Jones asked, getting ready for action.

"No, wait. He's leaving," Peter said, grabbing Jones' jacket and pointing towards the car the man was getting into. "Get a license plate number then go back and trace it at the office. I want to know who this guy is, who he works for, and if he's connected to Neal somehow."

Jones nodded and quickly wrote the plate number on a notepad he produced from his pocket and dashed from the room, pulling out his cellphone as he did.

"You don't really think that this guy would come back to Neal so soon after Neal escaped or they let him go?" Elizabeth asked. "I mean, that's almost begging for them to get caught."

"Yeah, but you never know with criminals. Especially dangerous ones," Peter glanced at Neal's broken body and sighed. "I still can't believe this happened."

"Hey, none of us did. But the world is a dangerous place and you can't protect everyone from everything. You're not superman or spider-man. You're just Agent Peter Burke."

Peter laughed. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Always make me feel better?"

"I guess it's just a special gift I have," Elizabeth said and smirked.

"Of course, which is why I love you."

"Please, break up the love fest," a small, but familiar voice said.

"Neal?" Peter said and ran over to his friend. "You're awake?"

"Since the last time I checked," Neal answered, his voice cracking a little from lack of use. "Sounds like I'm going through puberty again."

"Oh my..." Elizabeth said, coming over, "I can't believe you're awake."

Neal cracked one eye opened, but groaned and shut his eyes. "Turn off the lights," he moaned.

Elizabeth nodded and ran to shut off the lights and Neal opened his eyes, allowing them both to see the brilliant blue eyes they had been dying to see for over a week. "Good to see you finally awake," Peter said and smiled at his friend.

"How long have I been out?" Neal asked.

"About a day and a half or so. You were pretty banged up when someone found you. The doctors told us it would be a while before you woke up, though we were expecting much longer thanks to what they told us," Peter explained.

Neal nodded, but regretted it as pain spiked through his body. Flashes of how he got his injuries went through his head and Neal shivered slightly.

"Cold?" Elizabeth asked, always being the caring one.

"Um...yeah."

"We should call the doctor. He told us to alert him as soon as Neal awakened," Peter said pushing the call button that would send a nurse to their room.

"How long was I gone?" Neal asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Peter asked, slightly worried. He had heard of stories of hostage victims being locked in rooms where they couldn't see outside at all so didn't know how much time had passed between their kidnapping and rescue. It could be days or months, but it all blended together for them. Peter had hoped that Neal was different, that Neal knew everything that was happening to him. Well, that wasn't exactly the case now.

"Time passed differently then I guess." Neal went silent and a dark look passed over his face.

"You were gone about a week," Elizabeth answered. Peter nodded in agreement.

Neal was about to say something when the nurse walked in. Peter was pretty sure she introduced herself as Tina, but he never really paid attention to what she said if it didn't have to do with Neal's condition. "You called?" she asked.

"He's awake," Peter said, even though he thought that she could see that from the fact that Neal had his eyes open and was talking.

"I'll page the doctor." The nurse said, going off to do her medical chore.

"Do you call Mozzie?" Neal asked. "He'll be wondering about me."

"We tried his cell, but he didn't pick up," Peter explained.

Neal rolled his eyes. "Give me your phone." Peter hesitated. "I'm not going to do any harm to it, I promise."

"Here, you can use mine," Elizabeth said and giving Neal her iPhone. She gave Peter an evil glare and Neal just smirked, happy that he got his way.

Neal punched a few buttons and put the expensive phone to his ear. "Hey Moz," he said as the other line picked up.

_"Neal? Is this seriously you?"_

"Believe it, I'm alive and somewhat well."

_"From what your FBI friends told me, you were hidden off the face of the Earth. They couldn't find you anywhere."_

"Yeah, well I know some tricks that the FBI doesn't know about." Neal laughed at the horrified look Peter gave him.

_"How did you escape? Or did they let you go?"_

"Not now, I'll tell you all about that later. Listen, are you free?"

_"I can be."_

"Okay, well I'm in the hospital-"

_"Hospital? For Pete's sake, what kind of trouble did you get yourself into? You know hospital beds are like taxis, but they leave the meter running. You're gonna owe a lot of money."_

Neal could feel himself begin to tire and decided to hurry this up. "I know that. Listen, I'm at the hospital that's about ten miles down the road from your house. Where that nurse used to work. Come by as soon as you're free."

_"All right, but I'm not answering any more questions."_

"Okay, bye." Neal hung up the iPhone and handed it back to Elizabeth.

"How did you get him when we couldn't?" Peter asked.

"Well, like I said before, I know some tricks."

"We're going to be talking about that later."

Neal nodded, but slowly closed his eyes as exhaustion took over. It took out a lot of energy to stay awake for ten minutes and the pain was slowly starting to creep up back over him. Neal hadn't wanted to admit it, but he had been in pain nearly the whole time they had been talking.

The doctor walked in just as Neal had nodded off. "So, our patient awake?" he asked, giving his best smile that said 'I'm a professional, trust me.'

"He just fell asleep," Elizabeth said.

"All right, well at least he woke up. That's a good sign. Was he responsive at all?"

"Yes, acting like his normal self almost."

"Well, we won't be certain of anything until we can run some more tests, but like I said when he came in, he should make a full recovery."

"Thank you Doctor Hanson," Peter said, reading the doctor's name tag.

"I'll have Tina come in here soon to check on his condition," Doctor. Hanson said and nodded at the two and walked off.

Elizabeth and Peter sat in silence by Neal's bedside, still in somewhat shock of all the events that had taken place. About an hour and a half after Neal had fallen asleep, Peter's cell vibrated against his leg and he answered on the third ring.

"Agent Burke here."

_"Peter."_

It was Jones. "Do you have a lead on our guy?"

_"Yep. We traced the car to a man called Nicolas Shaffer. We searched his name, but could find nothing on him except for a few parking tickets. He works at a stock broking company about twenty miles from here. Seems like a good guy except for his career."_

Peter's jaw had dropped at the sound of that name. "You said Nicolas Shaffer?"

_"Yeah. We don't know if it's a fake name or something, but he seems to be a real person."_

"Nicolas is a real person. But he's not the person you're looking for."

_"Then who?"_

"I'm coming to the office right now."

_"Wait Peter, tell us!"_

Peter hung up and ran out of the hospital room without even bidding his wife a farewell or explanation.

**Author's Note: Wasn't my favorite chapter, but eh, w/e. I'm still blown away by y'all's response! I mean like, 30 story favs! Woa! And 80 story alerts! I just had a mini-heart attack. THANKS! Oh, also, I'm looking for a beta! So, review/message me if you're interested.**

**Love, Kai**


	7. Chapter 6: Spies

"_And if I only could_

_Make a deal with God_

_And get him to swap our places_

_Be running up that hill_

_Running up that road_

_Running up that building." –Running Up that Hill by Placebo_

**Chapter 6: Spies**

There were many times in one's life when your brain seemed to be on autopilot. You got from one place to another without having any impulse decision or control. Your brain just sent out one message:

Go.

This was one of those moments for Peter. He wasn't sure how he made it from Neal's hospital room to his car or how his foot seemed to be putting the petal to the medal. All he knew was that Nicolas Shaffer was back…

And he must have been connected to Neal.

"That's impossible though…" Peter whispered to himself. "Nicolas isn't even here anymore…"

Nicolas Shaffer had been a criminal that was one of the first people that Peter was made to investigate. Peter had been investigating a series of jewelry thefts and forgeries and all the signs pointed to Nicolas. But during the trial, a good lawyer and a dazzling smile got Nicolas the chance to walk free and continue his wreck on stores and other things. Unfourtanly, that other thing had become a killing spree and Nicolas went away from white collar crimes to homicides and other killings. Nobody had ever been able to link him to any of those crimes, but Peter knew it was him.

It was only Nicolas…only you never thought of him. He was perfect and everyone had put that incident behind them, blaming an apprentice FBI agent who still had to show his ID to get a beer.

Peter didn't know what Nicolas wanted from Neal, but he knew it wasn't good. Nicolas was smart and cunning, not the type to be easily caught. In fact, Peter was surprised that Nicolas had even let the car be traced back to him. Either Nicolas must be getting senile in his old age, or it was a trap…

No, had to be old age. Shaffer must be around later forties by now, and criminals tended to get sloppy the older they got. Peter refused to believe that any more harm could come to his loved ones…Neal included in that pile.

These thoughts pumped adrenalin through Peter's veins and he pressed down harder on the gas, determined to make it to the FBI building in less then an hour.

-

"Set the bait?" the man asked. He was pacing now, stretching his long legs after so long of sitting in his chair.

"Yes. The agent has already left. The only people who are still with him are the agent's wife and Caffery," Robert reported.

"When you move in to take Caffery, leave the wife. We don't need her and I don't like extra baggage."

"But she's a fine piece, might be good for some fun if you know what I mean, sir."

"Shut up! I do not share your interests in the sexual world. Sex gets old after a while, killing people…now that's a pleasure worth while."

Robert nodded, though he still thought sex was better. "But if we take the wife, Burke will be more likely to come and find her and Caffery. He will not take any chances if we have them both."

The man waved his hand at Robert. "Very well, do as you wish. Did Shaffer comply?"

"Yes. I sent out Fred to pay him in full."

"Excellent. The plan is moving as we expected."

"There's still one question I have, sir."

"What is it? And it better not be another pointless question. I don't have time for those anymore."

"Why did we even let Caffery go if we were going to just take him again? Wouldn't it be easier to just leave out this whole letting go and taking him hostage again?"

The man laughed. "Oh, you are so naïve. Well, think of this Robert, how would you feel if your wife went missing?"

"I'm not married."

"Okay, how about if your finest hooker went missing?"

"I would be…sad I guess?"

"Pretend you would be devastated. This woman give you pleasure like no other woman could and now she's gone."

Robert shrugged. "I guess I would feel that way." _No I wouldn't_, thought Robert to himself.

"Then you got her back again and everything was finally right. You finally allowed yourself to relax and just have sex again."

"That would be nice, sir."

"Then she's taken again. Do you think that would hurt more? To have someone ripped out from beneath you just after you rescued them and could finally hang back and have sec like you did before."

"I think that would be a lot more emotional traumatizing, sir, but do we really care about that?"

"Of course we do!" the man yelled in his commanding voice. "Why else do you think we were even doing this silly ass mission?"

"To have fun with Caffery?"

"No! It's to ruin Burke's precious little life and family that's he has tried to create. We are just going to rip it all away from him and then laugh at what's left. That is our purpose."

"Can't we just kill Burke, kill Caffery, and take the girl?"

"You are a dumbass. This is all just to cause Burke pain!"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you so intent on causing this man pain?"

The man sighed. "Because of what he did to me."

-

Elizabeth was sitting by Neal's bedside, rubbing her temples to stop the oncoming headache that was starting to form. She had been put through a lot in the past twenty-four hours and now she was expected to sit here alone next to her injured friend.

When Neal had first come to their house, Elizabeth didn't know what to think of him. He seemed so…human. For some reason Elizabeth had expected him to just be some form of a supernatural being or an alien. Her husband had spent many years trying to catch him and her husband was one of the best. How could a normal human outsmart her husband for so long when her husband was the best?

So Elizabeth had taken a keen interest to Neal and who he was as a person. He was very charming, but also very kind and just seemed like a regular person that you would find off of the streets. But, Elizabeth knew that beneath all the exterior laid a man who was struggling to get over an addiction…an addiction to crime and all the things that were bad. Neal was turning around his life like an ex-drug addict.

Elizabeth admired him for that.

While she was deep in her thoughts, a male nurse walked in and began to fiddle around with the wires at Neal's bedside.

"Hello," he said.

"Hi," Elizabeth said, but much quieter. This man made her uneasy for some reason.

"You know, you really are a fine piece of work."

"What the hell?" Elizabeth stood up to slap the man, but he pulled out a gun and took a step towards her.

"Now, we are going to do this nice and easy. You don't want me to kill your friend right here…do you?" The man said and he held up a rusty needle that probably had all sorts of infections in it, not to mention what was even in the needle.

"No," Elizabeth said, tears beginning to form.

"Now, I'm going to roll him out of her and you are going to follow. Just like we are taking him to be checked out of the hospital. My friend has a van parked out back, and we are going to go there and you're going to come along."

"What if I scream?"

"Then say goodbye to your friend. I hope when you die later on that you can tell him in the afterlife that you caused both of their deaths." The man paused. "Now will you come quietly?"

Elizabeth nodded and watched as the man picked up Neal and put him in a wheelchair.

"Walk," he ordered.

_I awake to find no peace of mind  
I said how do you live  
As a fugitive?  
Down here, where I cannot see so clear  
I said what do I know?  
Show me the right way to go_

Elizabeth tried to keep the tears at bay. She was leading Neal right into another hostage situation and not doing anything about it.

_And the spies came out of the water  
And you're feeling so bad 'cause you know  
And the spies hide out in every corner  
But you can't touch them, no  
'Cause they're all spies_

They're all spies

Peter had trusted her to keep a watch on Neal, but she couldn't do that simple task. She was going to get Neal killed.

_I awake to see that no one is free  
We're all fugitives, look at the way we live  
Down here, I cannot sleep from fear, no  
I said which way do I turn?  
Oh I forget everything I learn_

"You know, you're doing the right thing," the man whispered in her ear. "Your friend might not die as painfully thanks to your cooperation."

_Spies came out of the water  
And you're feeling so bad 'cause you know  
And the spies hide out in every corner  
But you can't touch them, no  
'Cause they're all spies_

They're all spies

"Now that gives me a lot of comfort," Elizabeth hissed back as they walked out the front doors and to the van that the man had mentioned before.

_And if we don't hide here  
They're gonna find us  
And if we don't hide now  
They're gonna catch us when we sleep  
And if we don't hide here  
They're gonna find us_

"Get in," the man said and Elizabeth obeyed. Neal's limp body was placed next to her and the wheelchair was thrown aside. Neal was beginning to show signs of pain thanks to there being no pain meds and Elizabeth watched helplessly as the doors closed, shutting off all communication to the outside world.

_Spies came out of the water  
And you're feeling so good 'cause you know  
But those spies hide out in every corner  
They can't touch you, no  
'Cause they're just spies_

-

Peter was just filling in Jones and Hughes about Nicolas Shaffer when his cell buzzed in his pocket. Peter checked the caller ID and saw that it was private.

"This better be pretty damn important," Peter hissed as he took a step away from Hughes and Jones.

"Oh it is," a strange voice said.

"Who is this?"

"Not important, but I have some pretty important baggage here that you might care about."

"What do you mean?" But Peter had a pretty good bet on who it was.

"Your little bitch criminal and your other little bitch," the man said and cackled slightly.

"You better not hurt them!"

"I won't as long as you follow the man's instructions."

"Which are?"

"You play the game."

Peter nearly screamed as the line went dead. Hughes and Jones ran over to him and were filled in.

"They have Neal and Elizabeth."

_They're just spies_

"We'll find them. Now, what did they say they wanted you to do? Any ransom? Immunity perhaps?" Hughes asked.

Peter shook his head. "No, he just said that I had to play the game."

_They're just spies_

"I think the captor will call again and ask for something a little more. Kidnappers often like to play game with their victims loved ones for cash or other things," Jones explained.

"Peter give me your phone, we'll try to track the place where the call was made," Hughes ordered and Peter complied.

"Do you think it was Shaffer?" Jones asked.

Peter shook his head. "No, Shaffer's probably dead by now."

_They're just spies_

"Then do you have any idea who took them?"

"I don't know who the man on the phone is," Peter said, but an idea came to him. "But I do know who the real mastermind is."

_They're just spies_

**Author's Note: Sorry about the wait. My computer was in the hospital with swine flu. The song that's played is called Spies by Coldplay. Really great song and band. Anyone have questions? Comments? Confused at all? Send me a review and keep on checking up on what's going on. This is getting intense :)**

**Kai**


	8. Chapter 7: In My Place

"_We have one chance,  
one chance to get everything right.  
My friends, my habits, my family,  
they mean so much to me.  
I just don't think that it's right.  
I've seen so many ships sail in,  
just to head back out again and go off sinking." –One Chance by Modest Mouse_

**Chapter 7: ****In My Place**

The van stopped in front of a rundown motel just out the outskirts of town. The motel looked like it had been through a time machine from the 50's and had come into 2009. It seemed like it had had better days with all the windows, broken, shutters coming off, and who knows what else?

The man who had kidnapped the two opened the back door and grabbed Neal by his ankle and dragged him out. Elizabeth followed, giving a glance towards the town and its large buildings and telephones for her to call for help.

"Don't even think about it," the man whispered. "If you run I'll be forced to do even worse things to your friend."

She nodded and followed the man with Neal into the motel. There, they were greeted by a strong aroma of urine, alcohol, tobacco, and a mix of everything else that smelled terrible. Elizabeth tried not to gag as the man led them into a room in the way back.

"Sorry 'bout the smell." He didn't seem sorry at all…

Neal was starting to squirm and moan as he woke up. There was a fine shine of sweat covering his body and slight shivering racked his small frame.

"What's wrong with him?" the man demanded, looking at Elizabeth.

"How should I know? I'm not a doctor." The second Elizabeth said those words she regretted it when the man went white with rage and slapped her right across the face.

"I don't have a high tolerance of bitches like you," he whispered and she nodded. The man shoved Elizabeth in the room and threw Neal in beside her. He slammed the door shut and said from the outside, "Don't even think about leaving. If you do, you might have a dead corpse waiting for you when you get home."

"Peter," Elizabeth whispered. "We won't leave," she said louder.

"Good. Someone will be by later to…explain things." The echo of his footsteps outside signaled that the man left.

Elizabeth crawled over to Neal and ran her fingers threw his hair as he struggled with the pain. She examined their surroundings as she did this.

The room was as broken down as the motel itself. There was one chair with three legs and a mattress for the furniture. A door in the back might have led to a bathroom one time, but now was boarded up. The carpet had an assortment of stains including urine, feces, vomit, and blood. Elizabeth had a feeling that the blood belonged to Neal from the last time he was held in here. There was a small window, but it was near the ceiling and only about the size of Elizabeth's head.

No. Escape.

Neal groaned as he opened his eyes. Elizabeth smiled slightly at him. "It's about time you've woken up."

"What time is it?" He asked in a scratchy voice.

"Ten-thirty."

"Really?"

"No, I have no idea what time it is. Or were we are for that matter."

Neal sat up, a grimace of pain going over his face as he did. "Oh shit no…"

"What? Do you know this place?"

"Yeah, this is where I was the last time they captured me."

"Neal," Elizabeth said and turned the injured man to face her, "what happened last time you were captured?"

"It's a long story."

"I have time."

Neal sighed. "Well, once upon a time, I was walking home from work. Peter had been kinda pissed at me that day so I figured it was best not to ask for a ride from him. So, there I was, minding my own business when this guy starts to walk behind me. He starts up a conversation about sports and I decide it was better not to tell him that I didn't like sports since he was upon three times my size."

"He follows me to June's house which I must admit is a little creepy, and then he leans in real close and says, 'Is Kate with you too?' Then the next thing I know is he has a gun and is leading me to an alley where apparently somebody knocked me out because the next thing I know is I'm here and my tracker is gone."

"Everyday they would come in and take me to a room where they would beat me and shout things like how this wasn't my fault only that I associated with the wrong people. They all wore masks to hide their faces and I was blindfolded about 50% of the time. Then about the last day I was held captive, the men didn't have their masks on and I wasn't blindfolded. The same man that I had been talking to before I had been captured came up and said, 'This is for Agent Peter Burke' and he broke my right leg with a hammer. One of the worst pains I've ever experienced."

"That day, they put me in the van and drove me to the middle of nowhere and knocked me out and dropped me on the side of the road. Next thing I know, I wake up in a hospital."

Elizabeth was horrified by Neal's story of his time as a hostage. She didn't know that they had beaten him everyday…that was just cruel. It was cruel that a human could do that to another member of their own species.

"Do you know who did it?"

Neal laughed harshly before breaking out into a series of coughing fits. After they settled down he smiled and said, "They may have thought they were hiding their identities, but they were really just pointing a big neon sign at themselves."

"So, who are they?"

"I don't know all of them, but I do know the main masterminds. You see, a few years before Peter ever started chasing after me; I was out in Jersey trying to steal some paintings. Unfourtanely, there was some other cons there and well…needless to say it wasn't pretty."

"I was pretty new to the game back then and almost screwed up the other cons' plans. They got pissed at me and decided to well teach me a lesson. They dragged me out back and beat me up pretty damn good before leaving me out there. I was in that ditch for about two days before a man named Nicholas Shaffer came and rescued me. He took me to his home where his wife patched me up real good."

"I told Nick that if he ever needed something he could call me and I would come and help him. Well, two years later he took me up on that offer. A group of criminals had come after Shaffer because apparently Nick had stolen some things from them. Shaffer called me to go and settle the disagreement between them."

"Needless to say, it didn't go so well and the criminals took me as ransom in exchange for the things Shaffer stole. Well, Nick didn't really care that much about me so he just let them have me."

"Well I was being held hostage, I met another person there, goes by the name of Mozzie. Now, while Mozzie and I were being held there, we began to learn things about our captors. There was two head guys; Mason Dever and Connor Whitvell. They had many followers that did their dirty business, but the main two were Robert White and Bobby Singer. Together, the four ran a nasty operation of torturing people and ruining people's lives."

"Eventually, Mozzie and I escaped with the help of another captive named Tom something who died while we were escaping. Mozzie and I became good friends after that and we never heard of those people until now."

"How are you so certain it's the same people?" Elizabeth asked.

"Because of their hoods. When we were being held under them, they always wore black masks to cover their faces. Mozzie made a joke about it, but they simply told us that wherever we are, if there are black masks and fear, it'll be them. Seems stupid, but it's them."

"Wow…" Elizabeth said.

"Yeah…wow."

The pain from Neal's injuries had caught up to him and he was left crying silently as he fought off the waves of immense pain. Elizabeth tried to soothe him, but he eventually fell into oblivion.

-

A while later, there was a pounding on the door and then it flew open, waking Neal in its process. Three large men entered and another stood at the door, guarding it from any of the hostages from escaping.

"Hello Connor," Neal said, his eyes glassy from pain and a fever that was beginning to set in.

"Hello Caffery. How nice of you to come back again so soon. And you brought a little slut along too. How thoughtful. It has been a while since I've…well, you're a man, you should know." Connor Whitvell gave a sly smile.

"Don't even think about hurting her!" Neal shouted.

"I'm afraid that's not up to you. You see, I'm me and you're you. I can do whatever the hell I want and if that includes hurting you and your little lady friend, so be it," Connor said and stepped back as the two other men grabbed Neal and Elizabeth.

"It'll be okay, I promise," Neal said.

"I believe you," Elizabeth said as the two were taken away.

_In my place, in my place  
Were lines that I couldn't change  
I was lost, oh yeah_

Neal was taken to a different motel room then Elizabeth, but he could still that they weren't that far away. He could still hear the men in her room.

"Don't you dare hurt her too much," Neal said. "Her husband will kill me if you do."

Connor just smiled.

_I was lost, I was lost  
Crossed lines I shouldn't have crossed  
I was lost, oh yeah_

Another hit.

Another scream from the other room.

Another desperate plea of 'no' from Neal.

_Yeah, how long must you wait for it?  
Yeah, how long must you pay for it?  
Yeah, how long must you wait for it?  
For it..._

"Shut the hell up!" Connor shouted and hit Neal on his broken leg, cracking the clean white cast that covered it. Neal screamed in pain.

_I was scared, I was scared  
Tired and underprepared  
But I'll wait for it_

"Why do you hate us like this?" Elizabeth asked as she looked up from where she was tied down. Blood trickled down from a wound on her head.

"We don't hate you, we hate someone else."

_If you go, if you go  
And leave me down here on my own  
Then I'll wait for you_

"You're a sick twisted man, Connor, you know that? And when you die, you'll die alone," Neal spat out harshly. He was hunched over in his chair, fighting off the waves of pain.

"You used to be one of us, don't forget that."

"Not anymore."

_Yeah, how long must you wait for it?  
Yeah, how long must you pay for it?  
Yeah, how long must you wait for it?_

"It's funny how the deeds of one man can hurt so many others," said the man as he pulled back his hand for another punch.

Elizabeth cringed as her battered body was abused more.

_Singing please, please, please  
Come back and sing to me  
To me, me_

"Do you think you're better then us just because you have some fancy anklet and FBI friends? No! You're not!" Connor shouted, getting down in his captive's face.

_Come on and sing it out, now, now  
Come on and sing it out... to me, me  
Come back and sing it_

"This should all be over soon," said the man.

"I don't know whether that's a good thing…or a bad thing," Elizabeth said.

"Don't think about it too much."

_In my place, in my place  
Were lines that I couldn't change  
And I was lost, oh yeah  
Oh yeah_

**Author's Note: Yes, I know, this is two weeks overdue. Well, hope y'all had a Merry Christmas and have a great rest of '09! The song is In My Place by Coldplay since I have so many Coldplay fans in the audience. If anyone watches Supernatural, there was a connection in this chapter to one of the characters. Have a happy New Year! **

**Love**

**Kai**


	9. Chapter 8: Not Exactly a Superhero

"_Tell everybody  
Waiting for Superman  
That they should try to  
Hold on the best they can  
He hasn't dropped them, forgot them or anything  
It's just too heavy for Superman to lift" –Waiting for a Superman by The Flaming Lips (but I prefer Iron & Wine's cover of this song more then the original)._

**Chapter 8: Not Exactly a Superhero**

"Burke, whose doing all of this?" Hughes asked, getting right up into his agent's face. There was no time for politeness now for now the stakes were much higher then before.

"Come with me," Peter said and began to power walk to his office. Hughes and the others followed, slightly jogging to keep up with the agent's pace.

"When I was still chasing Caffery, someone had called the office to give me anonymous tip on Neal's whereabouts. Do you remember that?" Peter turned around to look at the others behind him.

"Yeah, but that was years ago," Jones said.

"I'm not done. The tip said that Neal was being kept at a warehouse a couple of counties over. They said he was being held hostage by a Mason Dever and a Connor Whitvell. Those two were not people you would like to mess with. I went there with some backup, and we had the place surrounded."

They were in Peter's office and now the agent was digging around in the drawers of his desk, looking for something. "Burke, this story better has a point."

"It does, don't worry. So, when we had the place covered and we were going in, when they came at us from behind. It was pretty brutal and I'm still wondering how we got out of there like we did. Connor and Mason demanded to know why we were there. They were pretty scared that the FBI was finally going to end their little reign of fun."

"We told them that we only wanted Caffery, but it turned out that Caffery had escaped a week earlier with another hostage. I was pissed that we had lost Neal, but Whitvell and Dever were even more pissed that we had found out about them in the first place. I simply said that it was an anonymous tip off."

"Apparently that answer wasn't good enough for the two, so they had all their men lined up and they made each of them speak for me. I recognized only one voice…the voice of one of their main followers. A man by the name of Bobby Singer. So I sold him out in exchange for our freedom and we were off the hook of Whitvell and Dever. I went back to my daily life, forgetting the incident."

"Well that was a touching story. Now what the hell does that have to do with anything dealing with the kidnapping?" Hughes demanded.

"Will you please just let me finish?" Peter said. "Now, about two months ago, someone called my private cell from a phone booth in California. They said that they remember what I had done to them and that there would be hell to pay. Then, this came in the mail for me about three weeks ago."

Peter handed Hughes a package that had the words: **Peter Burke FBI** on it. Hughes cautiously opened it, the eyes of everyone in the room on him.

Inside was a wad of dollar bills and a note. Hughes read it out loud.

"Dear Peter Burke. It has been a long time, and no contact has been passed between us. I would have been sad if it had not been for the fact that you sold me out to my own colleagues. I thought I would be safe, telling you where your friend was…but I wasn't. I have my reasons for calling you, reasons that I will not share with you or anyone else in this world for that matter. But things have changed…the tables have turned. I am no longer the same little coward who tipped off FBI agents because they were scared to say that they didn't like breaking the law. Whoops, I guess I told you my reason for calling you. Oh well, so sad. Moving on.

Like I said, I am now a much more improved man with bigger issues to deal with now…like getting revenge. Thanks to you, I was thrown in the trash can of life and I had to struggle to get where I am. In my previous position I could have just killed off Whitvell and Dever and taken my crown. But I suppose this is better. Now, everyone works for me, including you. Ha, just kidding. You probably work for "the man."

Now, you should have also received a wad of money in this package. You should not touch this money or do anything with it. You will leave it in the package and not remove any of it. Trust me, I will know if you do. The money will come into play later on.

Also, don't tell anyone about this package. Not a single soul…for now. In weeks time, some things will happen to people close to you and then you may share the secret of this package to everyone. If you do spill our secret before then…well, you can say goodbye to your lovely little wife. Her name is Elizabeth…right? It would be such a shame to kill a pretty face.

I hoped that this reunion was as fun for as it was for me. I must be off, but Peter, have no fear, I will return. And you will know what it feels to lose everything like I have."

"No signature?" Jones asked.

"He doesn't need to. He knows that I will know it's him," Peter answered tiredly.

"What's the money for?" Hughes asked.

"I have no idea. I think its part of his sick little game that he's playing with us. Trying to mess with our heads," Peter said.

"So this guy captured Neal and Elizabeth just to get back at you for selling him out?" Lauren asked. Jones nodded. "Well, he has style, I'll give him that."

"Why didn't you say anything about this?" Hughes demanded, slamming the package on the desk. "Especially when we were looking for Neal!"

"I couldn't tell you because I thought that he would kill Elizabeth if I did!" Peter shouted back. "But that doesn't matter anymore…he already has her and Caffery."

"This dude is twisted," Jones muttered.

"What do we do now? Just sit around and wait for another phone call?" Lauren asked.

"What else can we do? It's not like we have any leads," Peter said.

"I'm going to go look up this Bobby Singer guy. Maybe he has like an old house or something that could be a good hiding place," Lauren said.

"It won't be that simple…but you can try," Peter said and waved her out.

"Burke, I know that this is hard for you, but you need to stay focused with us. Is there anything else that you remember that could help us? Anything at all?" Hughes asked in a somewhat nice tone.

"No, nothing."

"Where are Whitvell and Dever now?" Hughes asked.

"They moved their base out to Colorado a few years ago. Haven't seen any activity from them since," Peter said.

"Do you want me to go run a check on them?" Jones asked, moving towards the door.

"Yes, that would be helpful."

Jones nodded and ran out of the office, happy to be free from the tension filled room.

"This must be hard for you."

"You have no idea," Peter put his face into his hands and let out a sigh.

"That's just part of the job."

"Wasn't in the description."

"Really? Well I guess I have to go add it in then." Hughes moved for the door, but paused shortly. "We will get them. You're the best agent we have, you can find anyone."

"Are you so sure about that? I mean, I'm not exactly a superhero."

"Superman wasn't always superman."

As Hughes left the office, Peter grumbled to himself, "I wish I was superman right now. He can do everything, including protect the ones he loves."

**Author's Note: Is this confusing for anyone? Please don't hesitate to ask any questions. Okay, I'm sorry about the slow updates, but they will be like this for a long time I think. The reason is about a week ago I was at a party and I did some things I'm not really proud of at all. The aftereffects are bad for me and I am struggling to get my life in order. Please review and pray that I will be able to fix up my life. Oh, and whose excited for White Collar on Tuesday…um, me!**

**Kai**


	10. Chapter 9: Always Have an Escape Plan

"_**Enemies to brothers." –Without You Here by Goo Goo Dolls**_

**Chapter 9: Always Have an Escape Plan**

"There you go," Neal said as he tied another strip of t-shirt against Elizabeth's bleeding wound. They had been here for three days, but neither captive knew that. Everything blended together so that they only had each other and their small attempts at making jokes.

"Don't you think you're going to need your shirt for protection?"

"No, I'm good. I'm superman," Neal said, flashing one of his famous smiles.

"Really? Then why don't you fly us out of here."

"No, I'm not really superman. I was only the director's second choice. The first guy was much more handsome I guess."

"Whose more handsome then you?"

"I have no idea, but apparently the director had bad taste."

The mood went solemn when Elizabeth said, "Do you think Peter will find us?"

"Of course he will. He found me."

"Twice."

Neal smiled. "Yes, twice. See, if he can catch the master, then he can catch these low-life scum bags."

Elizabeth moved closer. "I hope you're right."

"I know I'm right. I'm Neal Caffery."

Elizabeth and Neal sat there, debating on what they should do. Neal had tried picking the lock several times, but each time the noise had attracted the ever present guard. The end result was another wound for Neal to bandage up since Elizabeth nearly fainted at the sight of blood on television.

There was no other way out. They had tried everything, from attempting to break down the door to cracking the way too small with anything they could find. Everything had ended in complete and utter failure on their part, success and happiness for their captors.

"How much longer do you think it will be before your husband finds us?" Neal asked.

Elizabeth smirked. "He can't even be on time for a simple dinner, much less a rescues mission. I doubt he'll be here before tomorrow."

"I hate that about him."

"Do you want to hear the things that he hates about you?"

"Not particularly."

"Exactly, now you should stop complaining about other people's flaws when you have so many yourselves."

"Be quiet, you know you love me."

"Yes, but I love Peter first…then you third."

"Who's second?"

"Jones."

The two's conversation was interrupted by the door opening and Neal groaned, immediately knowing what time it was. Elizabeth just moved along, hoping that for once they would find it in their hearts to spare them.

Of course, they didn't.

Neal and Elizabeth exchanged curious glances while one of the more ape-like captors picked up a phone. "This should be fun," he said in his deep voice before pressing the dial button on the phone.

"What's he doing?" Elizabeth asked as quietly as she could.

"I don't know. Couldn't they just stick to their normal schedule of beating us up and then dumping us back?"

"No talking," grunted another one of the ape-like creatures.

"Hello, can I speak to Special Agent Peter Burke," the man on the phone said. Smiling as Elizabeth's eyes went wide.

"No, leave him out of this!"

"Elizabeth, be quiet! Peter will be able to handle himself," Neal warned.

"Get them a gag," someone shouted and immediately Elizabeth's protests were cut short by a dirty piece of cloth crudely tied around her moth. Neal was given the same royal treatment.

"Hi Agent Burke, how are you doing," the man on the phone said.

"_Who is this?"_

"Oh I think you know too well who I am."

"_Bobby? _

"Not exactly. You see, Bobby's services became useless after he made his little connections to you. I'm the big one in charge now. The man behind the curtain."

"_You guys have a weird way of switching off leaders."_

"Now, Bobby sent you some money?"

"_Correct."_

"And he told you about some game that we would play?"

"…_Yes…"_

"Are you ready to play?"

"_Only if I get to talk to Neal and Elizabeth."_

"You're not the one calling the shots here. I am."

"_That will soon change if you want your money."_

"I can get money elsewhere. You, on the other hand, can't get another wife and pet con easily."

"_What's the game?"_

"Bobby had three favorite places of his to visit. He went there almost every day when he was alive. At one of those places, Elizabeth will be. At the other, Neal will be. And at the final place, there will be a briefcase. You must go here first, put the money in the case and then you can collect your prize."

"_That's it?"_

"Yes. Very simple it seems, but you have twenty hours, so clock is ticking."

"_Wait."_

"What?"

"_Why go through all of this trouble just to receive money that you had in the very beginning?"_

"Because I have my own damn reasons! You have eighteen hours now!" End of phone call.

"You don't play by the rules," Neal said, his voice muffled by the gag.

"Shut it," the man said and drew back his fist for the punch.

**Author's Note: Long time no see? My bad. I live up north where the freak weather has been freakish snow…all the time. Our power has been retarded too. You should all thank Tommy, our electrician, for getting our power back so I could write this. This story has very few chapters left, so get excited. And track has just started so I won't be able to update between all of the shit going on in my life. Thanks for your support so far.**

**Kai**


	11. Sorry for all of this

It's been a long time, right? Well, I am deeply sorry for the wait, but I am still alive. Unfortunately, many complications in my personal life have come up since I last updated making it hard to focus. And then my grades have dropped considerably and I am struggling to not fail any of my classes. My mind has no room to worry about updating fanfiction right now.

I know many of you wish to see the end to this fic, as do I. If any one of you would like to "adopt" this poor orphan story, then feel free to do so…but not without sending me a PM. I do get lonely. Hopefully things will lighten up for me by summer and then I will be back to updating and getting out lovely stories for you fabulous readers.

Until next time,

Kai


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